Houston

September 17, 2010

The Heisman love in this state appears reserved for UH QB Case Keenum because he has PlayStation3 numbers, or TCU SR Andy Dalton because he's the QB of a team that could go undefeated.But it's time that Aggies SR QB Jerrod Johnson start receiving some hype for an award that is all about publicity.

1. If CK plays this week at UCLA, and right now he's iffy because of a concussion, he has a shot to be invited to the ceremony in NYC. He won't win. Voters won't ever go Andre Ware on the Heisman again. Just getting to NYC if you're Keenum is a major win.

2. Dalton will be in the mix only if the Frogs are undefeated. That's his only shot.

3. Johnson deserves the hype if the Aggies can win their next three games: home against Fla. International, at Okie State and against Arkansas and fellow Heisman candidate, QB Ryan Mallett at JerryWorld. Depending on how JJ plays, he may deserve the consideration anyways.JJ has thrown for more than 300 yards in his last four games. Through two games he has passed for 671 yards with six touchdowns, no interceptions; he rushed eight times for 50 yards in the Aggies' Week 2 win against La Tech.

If the Aggies can somehow reach 5-0, which is possible because Okie St. appears down and do-you-really- trust-the-Hogs? JJ should be in the discussion for Reggie Bush's trophy.

September 16, 2010

I’m not crazy with this UT at TT game; there is no chance it will be a repeat of the ’08 classic. Neither team has looked great in Games 1 or 2, but Tech has appeared to play slightly better. Texas will start Fozzy Bear at RB, but the Horns are going to go with the hot hand. If it’s Fozzy, great. I’m guessing this will be a breakout game for QB Garrett Gilbert, and the nation will learn who true frosh WR Mike Davis is.

1.1 The TTers are better than I originally thought, but they’re defense doesn’t look at good as UT’s. QB Taylor Potts is going to struggle for time if he doesn’t get the ball out of his hands fast.

The difference will be UT’s defensive backfield. They will come up with at least one pick of Potts.

That said, UT is going to lose against Oklahoma.

1.2 Why Do People Think This is Series Close?

UT is 44-15 all-time against TT. But every time the Horns play in Lubbock it sounds like a loss is imminent. That no team can possibly win out west. Mack Brown is 9-3 against Tech, with all three losses in Lubbock (’98, ’02 and the greatest game of all time in 2008).1.3 Don't Pick Against The JimsterS-T Big 12 and college football master Jimmy Burch says TT will win. http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/09/15/2471851/quick-hits.html

2. Still Not Enough at SMU

The Ponies are coming off their first bowl appearance since The Death Penalty, but they’re still not generating much buzz around campus, Dallas, or anywhere else. Only 16,662 showed up at Ford Stadium last week for the home opener. It’s too bad. June Jones has a nice team. But it takes a while to re-build a fan base. Ask TCU.

SMU is offering $10 tickets for its home game on Saturday afternoon against WashingtonStateHigh School. Won’t matter. This takes years, and don’t be surprised if Jones eventually splits.

3. When does A&M’s season start?

The real season for the Aggies begins next Thursday in Stillwater, not on Saturday in College Station against some fake Florida school. The young linemen will get some more experience, which is good. But this team can’t prove anything other than it doesn’t stink until they play the T. Boone Pickens’s.

3.3 When is the real Von Miller returning?

The Aggies All-American OLB turned his ankle in the Week 1 win against SFA. He played in Week 2, but didn’t do or play a lot. He has to be the Aggies best defender for this defense to thrive. He is their most talented defender.

4. The Case For Case

The Coogs are in a perfect position to keep moving up the polls, even if QB Case Keenum doesn’t play at UCLA this weekend. The Bruins are that bad. Right now the decision to play CK is uncertain; he’s day-to-day with concussion like symptoms sustained in the win against UTEP in Week 2. If CK plays UH wins this game is a blowout.

4.4 B-Stew Time

Don’t think for a minute that Coogs DC Brian Stewart doesn’t want this game bad. The former Cowboys defensive coordinator, who was run out of Valley Ranch after the 2008 season, needs a solid performance in high-profile, national games like this to show he knows what he’s doing.

5. The Nerd Bowl.A quaint gathering of family and friends is expected for the Northwestern at Rice game on Saturday in H-Town. But it does pit two of the premier private academic institutions on the field at the same time. Both schools are loaded with an alumni list that would make Bernie Madoff blush.

Among the Rice alums include the late Howard Hughes, who proved he really didn’t quite need the degree, as well as noted author Larry McMurtry, who finished.

Northwestern is stuffed with famous alums, including Stephen Colbert, Jerry Springer and disgraced former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. You can bet absolutely none of these people will care who wins this game.

September 14, 2010

I'm not sure how this happened, but a player from the Houston Cougars offense managed to win an award and it's not QB Case Keenum.RB Bryce Beall was named the CUSA Player of the Week after he rushed for 195 yards and three touchdowns in the Coogs' 54-24 win against UTEP on Friday night. It was his first 100-yard game since the final game of the 2008 season.

Speaking of Keenum, he remains day-to-day with concussion like symptoms after he took a nasty hit during that game on Friday in the third quarter. The Coogs play at UCLA this weekend, and bet Keenum will start.

September 11, 2010

The ACC is in serious contention with the Big East as the Biggest Joke Conference in America.In Week 1 it was a suspended-riddled North Carolina team losing against LSU. Then Va Tech continued the poop parade by losing a glorified home game against Boise State.But what the ACC managed to do in Week 2 is really impressive.* No. 13 Va Tech manages to lose a real home game against I-AA James Madison. The Hokies were supposed to be a sleeper national title team. Now it appears they will be asleep for the rest of the season.* No. 12 Miami demonstrated it's not even close to its proud "U" days as it was defeated by Ohio State, 36-24.* No. 17 Florida State got popped by Oklahoma by a modest 37 points.* And No. 15 Ga Tech managed to lose against a Kansas team that lost the previous week to I-AA North Dakota State.What does this prove? It's not who you beat it's who you know.The ACC is in the same club as The Big East; both conferences are littered with overrated pretenders. But both will have teams in the big-cash, rich-kids only BCS games in January.

* Preseason polls are garbage. Get rid of them.

* Houston's defense is better under first-year and former Dallas Cowboys d-coordinator Brian Stewart. The Coogs proved that in their 54-24 win against conference rival UTEP on Friday night. Most of the Cougar love will go toward QB Case Keenum and their PlayStation3 offense; but if the Coogs are going to flirt with the BCS their defense has to be decent. It has been so far, and the Coogs are 2-0.

* Michigan rallied to defeat Notre Dame in South Bend today. The Wolverines are going to be one of the big surprises this season. You can hate Michigan coach Rich Rod' all you want, and probably with good reason. But the guy wins. Guarantee you the people in Columbus, Ohio are noticing this. QB Denard Robinson looks like he may be figuring this thing out; if he does, the Big 10 has another contender.

* In one week Kansas coach Turner Gill took the Jayhawks from one of its worst losses in the past decade to one of its best. How KU managed to score 3 points in a home loss against I-AA North Dakota State and seven days later score 28 points in a defeat of No. 15 Ga Tech in the nation is one of the great early season surprises.

April 08, 2008

There's going to be some good baseball tonight at Houston.The 19th-ranked Houston Cougars (19-10) will host No.8 Texas A&M (26-6) tonight at 6:30. It's going to have some good local flavor, too. Former Paschal star Jose Duran is having a huge season for the Aggies, currently hitting .379 with 50 hits in 132 at-bats. Freshman Nick Fleece, a Boswell grad, is hitting .258.Zak Presley is struggling so far in his sophomore season with the Cougars. The Southlake Carroll grad is hitting .250, down from last year's freshman campaign that saw him hit .306 with 13 stolen bases. Carlos Reyes, Presley's former teammate with the Dragons, is a freshman at UH. -Trae